The powers-that-be at CBS and the PGA Tour were smiling broadly when Tiger Woods birdied his first hole (No. 10) yesterday at the Genesis Invitational, then came back with another at No. 14 to go 2 under for the day and 1 under for 41 holes. It meant the bigwigs had a good chance to keep the TV audience glued to their sets and the huge on-course band following Tiger to the end.

    Tiger further helped them out with an eagle 3 on the par-5 1st at Riviera and a birdie on No. 5; 5 under for the day and 4 under overall. A bogey on No. 7 stalled the express briefly, but Tiger finished with a 4-under-67 and he's tied for 26th. He has no chance of getting close to Jon Rahm, who looks very tough at 15-under 198, but all Tiger wants to do is complete four rounds without his limp getting any worse. Most others in his position would be home in front of their TVs. 

    Tiger's round would have been a great deal better but his putter wasn't working on a bunch of holes where he had birdie opportunities, only to miss the cup by centimeters. He's off today a bit after 1 p. m. EST and he'll have more in his gallery than Rahm and his closest competitors, Max Homa (12 under) and Keith Mitchell (11 under). 

    Denny McCarthy moved up many notches with a 7-under-64 after a pair of 71s; he's tied for 6th. Rory McIlroy dropped out of it with a Saturday 73 and he's tied for 18th at 4 under. 

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